The Towns and Cities
of Northern OntarioMassey Ontario - in Ontario's Rainbow
Country

Massey
Ontario, once called Massey Station, is found along Highway 17 about 1 hour west of Sudbury Ontario.
It
sits itself where the Spanish River meets the Aux Sable River and has
the Spanish on it's south side and Chutes Provincial
Park on it's north. Driving along the Highway you may see little to
encourage you to stop. You notice no accommodations of note, no tourist
attractions to fascinate the kids, no restaurants that look to have
stars in anyone's guide book.

And if you stop at that first impression
you'll be missing one of the great jewels in Northern Ontario!

Massey Ontario is worth exploring. That's
something I missed for years when living only minutes away and something
I discovered quite by accident in recent years while working in the
area.

Turn
north at the only traffic light in Massey and in seconds you're at
Chutes Provincial Park. The park gets it's name from a chute that used
to divert logs around the falls. The chute is gone today, the falls and
many rapids remain. There is camping for all levels of enthusiasts and
hiking trails that will lead you through some of the most spectacular
and breath taking river scenery you're likely to ever come across.
Follow the Aux Sable River south through town and you'll find a lovely
tree shaded park area with white sandy beaches, shallow water so perfect
for wading, and a playground area for the kids. Of course you'll find
more of that right in the park area too!

Or,
turn south at the traffic light in Massey, cross the Spanish River and
then you are forced to make a decision. Right will take you into the
Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation reserve. Drive in, park your car and
wander into a local corner store. Chat. It's that easy to make new
friends and spend time with some of the most hospitable and friendly
Northerner's I've met in years. I've spent some great moments hanging
out on store porches just asking dumb tourist questions and being
charmed and helped by any number of people in this area. I have the
phone numbers to prove it! The area is full of hiking trails, scenery to
die for, intriguing history, and even remote expanses of sandy
beaches encircling coves dotted with wind twisted pine clad islands (if
you know where to look - we'll leave that for you to discover on your
own, can't spoil all the fun).

If
you chose to turn left after crossing the bridge things really get
complicated. Do you want to spend your vacation at some awesome lodges
and resorts, canoeing endless lakes and rivers, fishing, resting in a
hot tub a few feet from a lake watching the sun go down in blazing
glory, hiking conservation areas, touring fish breeding beds, or
identifying wild flowers? Can't decide? How about horse back riding
through our Northern Ontario wilderness along wide level trails or up
and down rocky and rugged hillsides? Tour a dairy farm, pick enough wild
blue berries to make yourself ill (my dogs love them too and pick their
own), do some bird watching in an area noted for it's wide variety of
species from common to rare and unusual. And photography! Oh the
opportunities for photography! Just go.

Of
course Massey also offers a golf course and club, a museum, an
agricultural fair, flower shows, a marathon that is a qualifier for the
Boston Marathon, and native Pow Wow's.

It's taken me a year to decide to write
this page. I love the place and have been afraid that telling you what
Massey Ontario is really like will have hoards of you pouring in and
spoiling it for me! On the other hand Northern Ontario is a pretty big
place, I've decided to share the wealth. Enjoy.